It is well known that for refrigeration of beverages, especially in bars and restaurants, specifically designed vessels, such as ice buckets, are used into which a bottle or some other container of beverage is placed and surrounded with ice cubes in order to chill it to a desirable temperature for consumption. Such a vessel is customarily held on a table or in the vicinity of a table near consumers in hotel rooms, cruise ships, restaurants or the like. Obviously, if the vessel is left alone for a period of time inside a warm room or in ambient conditions, the ice gradually melts allowing the containerized beverage (a wine bottle for example) to warm to an undesirable temperature. Accordingly, it periodically becomes necessary for new ice to be added to the container.
One problem associated with the above-described prior art chilling system is that bottles or other containers, when removed from the chilling vessel, tend to be covered with moisture. This moisture may, when a customer or waiter pours a drink, dribble onto a tablecloth or onto the guests being served. This moisture also frequently causes a label, on a wine bottle for example, to become torn, loosened, or wrinkled resulting in a less pleasing presentation to a consumer.
Other prior art beverage chilling systems use beverage cooling containers adapted to receive multiple-use chilling packs which need to be frozen before usage. Such multiple-use chilling pack systems are disadvantageous in situations where it is impossible or impractical to have a steady supply of frozen chilling packs.